It is strongly recommended, but not absolutely
required, that an individual seek the advice of an attorney. Civil actions require specific knowledge of court proceedings.

Corporations are required to have an
attorney in all proceedings (except Small Claims or Commercial Small Claims). It is necessary for an attorney to
represent the corporation at all stages of an action, including
answering the summons and complaint.

It is essential that a party proceeding
without an attorney be fully versed in court procedure, trial and
evidentiary rules. Neither the court staff nor judge may provide legal
assistance at any stage of the proceedings.

The maximum amount is $15,000 per cause of action in District Court. Small Claims are special actions that
are limited to $5000 per filing. There is no monetary limit to money awarded in a summary proceeding in landlord tenant court.

If you chose to represent yourself, you
must purchase a civil summons and complaint form that is specifically
intended for the District Court. An example is a Blumberg form T1480
which can be purchased at a store that sells legal stationery or from www.blumberglegalforms.com.

After the form is completed by you, the
summons must be issued (signed) by a District Court civil clerk. There
is a filing fee. After the summons is signed,
you must arrange to have the summons and complaint served on the
defendant(s).

You must appear at the District
Court Clerk's office where the case is pending to file an answer to the civil complaint. You should do
this as soon as possible, since the maximum amount of time that you
have to answer is either twenty or thirty days depending on how you
were served with the summons.

If both the plaintiff (the person
starting the law suit) and the defendant (the person sued) are
represented by an attorney, a Notice of Trial with the proper fee must be received before a case can proceed
to trial or to compulsory arbitration.

If either side is self represented, the
matter will immediately be scheduled for a pre-trial conference, before
a judge, if the Cause of Action is greater than $6,000. If the Cause of
Action is $6,000 or less, the matter will be referred to compulsory
arbitration.

These services are not employees of the Unified Court
System, they are independent contractors and establish their own rates
- price per page varies. They will either take the required information
and contact the Court, or ask you to contact the court and arrange to
have the recording sent to the contractor.

If you have any questions regarding a verbatim
transcript from a Suffolk County District Court matter, please contact:
Ron Gorman, Supervising Court Reporter, (631) 853-5418.